Student & Community Engagement
There is a large body of evidence linking student engagement to academic success and increased self esteem. Student engagement is multi-faceted, characterized by behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement. Family and community engagement are also shown to increase student engagement and achievement. Our Student Services team strives to support student and community engagement in a variety of ways, including those listed below.
Attendance
There is a strong correlation between regular attendance and student success. Missing just two days a month can put a student’s success in jeopardy because they fall behind and begin to disconnect. We offer consultation and coaching support to our districts focused on addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism. Our student and community engagement specialist offers a suite of services including data and reporting support, coaching for school and district attendance teams, and resources to increase effective communication between schools and families about the importance of regular attendance.
School Climate
A positive school climate is critically related to student engagement and success. It can improve attendance, achievement and even graduation rates. We offer professional learning opportunities to help staff improve school climate from multiple angles, such as strengthening trauma-informed practices, using culturally responsive pedagogy, interrupting bias and developing partnerships with parents. We offer training to staff across school communities, including front-office employees, bus drivers, classroom assistants, teachers and administrators.
Community Engagement Technical Support
We are here to support districts with their community engagement efforts in a variety of ways. We build districts' capacity to solicit community input, as well as directly facilitate input/feedback opportunities such as focus groups, empathy interviews and surveys. We provide data collection, analysis and reporting services to help districts use the important information gathered from their community. We also provide translation and interpretation services for districts as a way to support two-way, ongoing communication with families and the community.
McKinney-Vento Liaison Support
Our crisis prevention and response specialist works collaboratively with partners from the Clackamas County Housing & Community Development to support the McKinney-Vento liaisons in each of our 10 districts. The McKinney-Vento Act is federal legislation that ensures the educational rights and protections of children and youth experiencing homelessness. The liaisons in each district work to help students and families experiencing homelessness access resources and remove barriers so they can continue to attend school.
Program Contacts
Teaching & Learning News
Staff spotlight: Dan Kimbrow, multilingual learner specialist
Multilingual learners, often from immigrant or refugee backgrounds, face additional challenges in their education as they build English language proficiency. Dan Kimbrow, a multilingual learner specialist at Clackamas Education Service District, supports educators and other school district teams in building skills, strategies and resources needed to bridge gaps in multilingual [...]
Help us launch the Clackamas Native American Student Consortium! Submit a ED 506 Form today
Clackamas ESD is working to establish a Native American student consortium in Clackamas County dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive environment where Native American and Alaska Native students are encouraged to excel academically while staying connected to their cultural roots. The vision of the consortium is to pool [...]
Staff spotlight: Hoa Nguyen, student and community engagement specialist
Hoa Nguyen is a Clackamas Education Service District student and community engagement specialist on our student services team who helps Clackamas County school districts address chronic student attendance issues. Hoa spent several years as a school attendance coach before coming to Clackamas ESD, and her expertise is further informed by [...]
